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Nigerian military officer (born 1940) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Godwin Alabi-Isama (born 24 December 1940) is a Nigerian retired military officer,[1] author[2] and statesman who served as chief of staff to Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle of the 3 Marine Commando during the Nigerian Civil War.[3][4]
Godwin Alabi-Isama | |
---|---|
Born | Ilorin, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now in Kwara State, Nigeria) | 24 December 1940
Allegiance | Nigeria |
Service/ | Nigerian Army |
Years of service | 1960–1977 |
Rank | Brigadier general |
Commands | 3 Marine Commando Division |
Battles/wars | Nigerian Civil War |
Alma mater | Mons Officer Cadet School |
Alabi-Isama was born on 24 December 1940, in Ilorin, Kwara State, to a Ukwani (Delta State) father and a Yoruba (Ilorin) mother. He attended Ibadan Boys High School.[5] In 1960, he joined the Army and attended the Mons Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom and the Senior Tactics School and Staff College in Quella, Pakistan.[6] Alabi-Isama was a tactics instructor at the Nigerian Military School in Zaria, Nigeria and the Nigerian Military Training College (now Nigerian Defence Academy) in Kaduna prior to the civil war.[7]
Brigadier-General Alabi-Isama served as the commander of the troops stationed at the Niger Bridge in Asaba,[8] He was subsequently transferred by the Army Headquarters to the 3 Marina Commando, 3MCDO, operating on the Calabar front during the war.[9][10] Alabi-Isama led forces against the Biafran Republic, successfully liberating various locations including Odukpani, Ikot-Okpora, Iwuru, Akunakuna, Itigidi, Ediba, Ugep, Obubra, Afikpo, Oban, and Ekang. He also "closed" the international border with Biafra at Nssakpa, as detailed in his book, The Tragedy of Victory.[11]
In April 1968, Alabi-Isama and his 3MCDO men embarked on a mission to recapture Creek Town, Itu, Uyo, Ikot-Ekpene, Oron, Eket, Opobo, Abak, Etinan, Bori-Ogoni, Akwete, Afam, Aletu Ekene, Elelenwo, Okrika, and Port-Harcourt, successfully completing the operation the following month."[12] After the war, Alabi-Isama assumed the role of the Nigerian Army's Principal General Staff Officer. In 1973, he served as the Acting Governor of the Mid-Western Region, where he notably received the first group of National Youth Service Corps members, as recounted in his autobiography. Following his retirement as a Brigadier-General from the Army in 1977, Alabi-Isama relocated to the United States.[13]
Alabi-Isama played a pivotal role in leading the troops that successfully liberated the remaining parts of Cross River State following Colonel Adekunle's amphibious sea landing at Calabar.[14] Furthermore, he commanded the 3 Marine Commando troops that effectively captured the present-day states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and Bayelsa.[15] His strategic planning, specifically the implementation of the Pincer 2 strategy, played a crucial role in bringing an end to the Nigerian Civil War.[16][17]
The Tragedy of Victory: On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theatre is a sequential narrative of the war that lasted from 6 July 1967 to 15 January 1970 which was published in 2013.[18]
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